Children's Home run by Acorns to Oaks Children’s Care & Support Limited in Wirral

Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 1 Registered provider: Acorns to Oaks Children’s Care and Support Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a large, warm home that is clean and well maintained. They can personalise their bedrooms and contribute to the development of their home. Children say they feel safe living here.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend school. When children have not been enrolled in full- time education, staff and managers have challenged other agencies and advocated for children’s needs to be met. This has enabled children to make excellent educational progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a variety of activities and outings. They encourage children to remain active and take care of their health and personal hygiene. When needed, staff take children to health appointments and ensure that they take their medication if required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have advocated for children to have more time with people who are important to them. Staff support children to understand healthy relationships and boundaries with family and friends. This helps children to develop and maintain positive relationships and supports them to understand their family identity. One family member said, ‘[Name of child] has been able to stay connected to friends. The distance separating her from them has not been a barrier to her spending time with them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff carry out regular direct work sessions with children to help them better understand their emotions. Staff support children to reflect on incidents that have happened and to think about how things may be done differently next time. However, staff do not regularly provide proactive work that is planned based on the children’s presenting needs.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs and advocate for these to be met. One professional said, ‘I can’t actually speak highly enough of them. I feel they’re very nurturing, it feels like a home.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children do not go missing often, and safeguarding procedures are followed when children do go missing. Children’s plans are regularly updated to reflect their individual needs. Staff follow these plans and know what strategies work best for each child.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff use physical intervention as a last resort. When staff have had to restrain a child, they have recorded the incidents appropriately. The manager evaluates any incidents of restraint to determine if they were necessary and proportionate. When Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 4 the manager has identified further training needs for staff following these incidents, training has not been implemented in a timely manner.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Allegations do not occur frequently. When there have been allegations, these have not always been immediately referred to the necessary safeguarding officer. This is not in line with the home’s own policies and procedures. However, managers and staff have acted appropriately to safeguard the children and ensured that any staff member involved was not in the home until an investigation had been concluded. Managers failed to inform Ofsted of one allegation.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff communicate well with family members and external agencies and promote partnership working. One professional said, ‘The placement works well with targeted services, and they communicate well with me. I’m really quite happy with everything about [name of home].’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and suitably qualified. She has a clear vision for the home and aspirations for the children living there. The manager and deputy manager are supportive of the staff team. One staff member said, ‘The support from managers is really good. The manager gets us involved in the development of the home’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When recruiting staff, managers follow safer recruitment procedures to ensure that they are fully vetted and safe to work with children. The manager challenges staff practice when it does not meet her standards and expectations. This promotes a safe and healthy environment for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

As this is a newly registered home, the staff team is new but appears stable. Induction training for the staff team is thorough and staff say that it has prepared them well for their role. Staff receive regular supervision and attend monthly team meetings, which they find helpful. Staff are given the opportunity to reflect on their practice during supervision and are provided with learning opportunities in their team meetings. Staff develop their practice through regular training that is specific to the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good internal monitoring systems and makes use of independent monitoring to ensure that staff provide consistently good care to the children. This oversight promotes the safety and well-being of the children living at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

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Requirement Due date

provide for the prompt referral of an allegation about current or ongoing abuse or neglect in relation to a child to the placing authority and, if different, the local authority in whose area the home is located;

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Requirement Due date

provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response;

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Requirement Due date

describe the measures which may be necessary to protect children following an allegation of abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

describe how and to whom staff are to report, without delay, any concern about abuse or neglect of a child. (Regulation 34 (2)(b)(d)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that company policies are fully followed when an allegation is made. 9 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 9 April 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all children receive proactive direct work, targeted to their specific needs, to help them understand how to keep themselves safe. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.7)  The registered person should ensure that training needs identified following restraints are rolled out to staff in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.58) Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 6

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acorns to Oaks Children’s Care and Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 3, 125 to 129 Witton Street, Northwich CW9 5DY

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Inspector

Aislinn Cooper, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 8 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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